Only a few weeks before the NFL’s biggest game of the year, Chamber of Commerce members and their guests will hear from a mentor of past Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli Manning.

David Cutcliffe, head football coach for Duke University, will be the featured speaker at the 71st annual Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner and Membership Meeting on January 12.

“We are excited to be able to bring Coach Cutcliffe to Scotland County,” said Theresa Lamson, chamber president. “Providing the opportunity for our business members and sports fans to meet the coach is the fun part of the job. This is about more than bringing a well-known sports figure to the area, it is about learning: learning about leadership and how it comes from all different walks of life.”

And Cutcliffe knows a thing or two about leadership with over 30 years of coaching experience. Before coming to Duke, Cutcliffe served the previous two seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. His head coaching experience includes a six-year stint at the University of Mississippi from 1999-04 where he compiled a 44-29 (.603) ledger with five winning seasons, five bowl game appearances and a share of the SEC Western Division championship in 2003. Cutcliffe was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Rebels to a 10-3 record including a 31-28 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.

As a member of the coaching staff at Tennessee from 1982-98, Cutcliffe helped the Volunteers to four SEC championships, 16 bowl games in 17 seasons and the national title in 1998. His first tenure with the Vols featured the mentoring of quarterbacks Andy Kelly, Heath Shuler, Tee Martin and Peyton Manning.

On December 2, 1998, Cutcliffe was named the head coach at Mississippi. Immediately taking the reins, he coached Ole Miss in its 35-18 Independence Bowl win over Texas Tech to conclude the 1998 campaign.

While at Mississippi, Cutcliffe tutored 2003 SEC Player of the Year Eli Manning. The younger Manning brother was a first team All-America pick as a senior, closed his career with an SEC-record 10,119 passing yards, and was the top overall choice in the 2004 NFL Draft. In Manning’s fourth professional season, he guided the New York Giants to the Super Bowl and earned MVP honors after throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-14 win over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots on February 3, 2008.

In the spring of 2005, Cutcliffe joined the coaching staff at Notre Dame, but resigned from the post for health reasons. He then returned to Knoxville prior to the 2006 season. Cutcliffe helped the Volunteers to a 19-8 record from 2006-07 with two appearances in the Outback Bowl. In 2007, Tennessee went 10-4 with a 6-2 league mark en route to winning the SEC Eastern Division crown.

Cutcliffe joined Duke to become the 21st head football coach on December 15, 2007. In 2008, Cutcliffe guided the Blue Devils to a 4-8 overall record against the nation’s second-most difficult schedule, matching the program’s win total from the previous four seasons combined. He brought instant enthusiasm to the Duke campus as season ticket sales increased by over 60 percent, and Wallace Wade Stadium was host to four crowds of over 30,000 for the first time in school history.

Beside Cutcliffe’s appearance, the evening will feature a reception, dinner and dessert, installation of Drew Williamson, 2010 chamber chairman, and the winners of the Dormegan/McLean Community Youth Service Award, Dunbar/McCoy Quality of Life Award and chamber Volunteer and Ambassador of the Year Awards. “The purpose of the evening and this event is to celebrate: celebrate our community, celebrate our accomplishments, and just plain enjoy a nice evening out,” Lamson added. “I hope with the addition of Coach Cutcliffe, we are making the evening a bit more enjoyable.”

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Highlands, 17160 Plant Road in Laurinburg, and admission is $30 per person.

To make a nomination or for information on the Dormegan/McLean Community Youth Service Award and Dunbar/McCoy Quality of Life Award, or for more information about the evening’s program, call the chamber office at 276-7420